General Music Thread

^ Wow! Not bad! Not bad at all! I might just have to pay attention to those guys! I'm usually not all that big a fan of the whole 'hot female vocalist in skimpy clothing' thing...like they are trying to appeal to primarily males through the skimpy clothing etc. As a female, my first reaction to that kind of band is usually "Okay - fine. I'll just leave then!" But they do sound pretty doggone good...

Seems like the Scandinavians are getting more and more of a corner on the metal market. Lots of decent bands coming out of there.

So far, I think my favorites are Opeth and Apocalyptica...but there are several good ones!

Hummm....not if that link is any indication. The Hoosiers are way too 'poppy' to be close to The Shins

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Maybe, I was thinking the voice sounded somewhat familiar. That was their most sucessful track that I sent you, but they are somewhat 'poppy' I guess. It's the kind of pop that I like.
Yeh, listening to the others I see what you mean, they're definitely more guitar/indie based.

You mean that Korn track? You liked that? Wow!

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Yeh, it wasn't unpleasant, and I'm always willing to give most music a chance. I liked it.

I don't know if you listened to that Avenged Sevenfold track or not...but outside of the very beginning, there is not any screamo on it. True, it's metal...but not screamo metal. I'm not a huge fan of a lot of screamo either. I mean, it's fine here and there in a band's repertoire...but I don't care for a band whose songs are all screamo...or even a band who has screamo in every song. I don't mind it...but it has to be fairly limited.

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I think I listened to the first minute or so but nothing caught my attention. "Dear God" is better though. I really liked "So Far Away" actually.

Beginning to understand why I think this band is so talented? I don't know of any other metal bands (or any bands, PERIOD) that are capable of writing across all those genres, let alone playing across all of them with such technique!

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Yeh, I see what you're saying. I love it when artists can cross genres a bit. I liked most of what I heard.

Yeah...I think what is played here and what is played there must be very different, once you get outside the pure pop realm. The latest Death Cab album was very much promoted over here...but you say you would not have heard of them if it hadn't been for this cousin in SA? Wow! That's incredible...because it would have been impossible to miss them if you lived in the US.

But then, I'd not heard of The Hoosiers before today...and I see from Wikipedia that they are a UK band. So that explains it, I guess...the other part being that I don't listen to pop stations at all. I do listen sometimes to indie rock stations...but I've never heard them on there....

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I noticed on wiki that Death Cab had some number 1 albums in the US, so I'm not surprised. I don't even listen to radio much, so even if they were playing I could've easily missed them. I know someone else here who'd already heard of them, or at least "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" so they've got a bit of influence over here.
As far as sales go: http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=10730

Oh...and yeah...your dad and I are pretty close in age...he only has me by a couple of years. Which is about what I expected based on what you have written about his vinyl collection. Mine looks very similar!

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Ok, I thought so. It goes without saying that I'm a lot younger then. I'm 17, so no personal vinyls here. Yet.

^ Wow! Not bad! Not bad at all! I might just have to pay attention to those guys! I'm usually not all that big a fan of the whole 'hot female vocalist in skimpy clothing' thing...like they are trying to appeal to primarily males through the skimpy clothing etc. As a female, my first reaction to that kind of band is usually "Okay - fine. I'll just leave then!" But they do sound pretty doggone good...

Seems like the Scandinavians are getting more and more of a corner on the metal market. Lots of decent bands coming out of there.

So far, I think my favorites are Opeth and Apocalyptica...but there are several good ones!

Thanks for posting! I enjoyed those!!!!

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If we count Finland as "Scandinavian", they've had the corner on that market for a long time.

I've got one of Apocalyptica's (Worlds Collide) albums and I like it a lot.

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*nods* Yeah...you know, the comparison to Lacuna Coil was not lost on me either. That was my first thought, in fact. I only have one of Lacuna Coil's albums (Dark Adrenaline) but I would like to get a couple of the earlier ones. Seems like a few of them have good reviews on Amazon and the couple of videos I have checked out have been pretty good.

As for Apocalyptica...I like World's Collide too. In all honestly, I like them much better when they do stuff like that - team up with singers so there are vocals.

The song that got my attention, in fact, was this one:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMLsF8ajI6U[/yt]

This video also got me interested in Stone Sour, by the way...because it made me realize that when he's not screaming in those stupid costumes in Slipknot, Corey Taylor has an excellent voice and is actually a pretty nice looking guy - not nearly as scary as his Slipknot image.

JayOwl...if you like Death Cab...and you think The Shins are pretty good, I have to ask you...have you ever heard of Modest Mouse? They are another American band...been around since the early/mid 90's and I really like their music, mainly cus they have that quirk factor that I like. You might want to give them a try if you have not heard them...they might be up your alley. Here are some representative samples:

I've got one of Apocalyptica's (Worlds Collide) albums and I like it a lot.

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*nods* Yeah...you know, the comparison to Lacuna Coil was not lost on me either. That was my first thought, in fact. I only have one of Lacuna Coil's albums (Dark Adrenaline) but I would like to get a couple of the earlier ones. Seems like a few of them have good reviews on Amazon and the couple of videos I have checked out have been pretty good.

As for Apocalyptica...I like World's Collide too. In all honestly, I like them much better when they do stuff like that - team up with singers so there are vocals.

The song that got my attention, in fact, was this one:

This video also got me interested in Stone Sour, by the way...because it made me realize that when he's not screaming in those stupid costumes in Slipknot, Corey Taylor has an excellent voice and is actually a pretty nice looking guy - not nearly as scary as his Slipknot image.

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Actually Dark Adrenaline is the only LC album I don't have....yet.

Shallow Life was their least good one, everything before that was pretty consistent sound-wise.
I felt the debut album from Memoira would have been a better follow-up than Shallow Life, even though it's a different group.

JayOwl...if you like Death Cab...and you think The Shins are pretty good, I have to ask you...have you ever heard of Modest Mouse?

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No, I haven't. My 90s knowledge doesn't go much further than Oasis, Blur, Take That, No Doubt and a few others. Plus quite a few that started in the late 90s. I'll give them a listen though.

They are another American band...been around since the early/mid 90's and I really like their music, mainly cus they have that quirk factor that I like. You might want to give them a try if you have not heard them...they might be up your alley. Here are some representative samples

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Those video is so 90s! I don't know what it is about them. They just sparks a lot of familiarity.
I really like the guitary/rocky sound. Sounds like a talented band. I could easily get used to them, given a bit of time for it to grow on me. No, I do really like it. I like the first one the most I think.

One thing though.. in some ways it doesn't seem entirely serious- if that makes sense? I don't know why. Maybe it's the style of music I heard on the radio or at school when I was 4, 5, 6, 7 and I accosiate it with that age subconciously. Not saying that's a bad thing. Can't have serious all the time.
I'm probably making no sense to anyone else, but my excuse is that it's late. I'm going to bed now.

One thing though.. in some ways it doesn't seem entirely serious- if that makes sense? I don't know why. Maybe it's the style of music I heard on the radio or at school when I was 4, 5, 6, 7 and I accosiate it with that age subconciously. Not saying that's a bad thing. Can't have serious all the time.
I'm probably making no sense to anyone else, but my excuse is that it's late. I'm going to bed now.

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Well, what you are reading as the lack of seriousness is in fact the 'quirk factor' that I love so much. Clever lyrics...tongue-in-cheek humor, innovative music....that, ti me is what good indie rock is about.

Play Missed The Boat Again and read these lyrics - they are brilliant!:

"Missed The Boat"

While we're on the subject
Could we change the subject now?
I was knocking on your ear's door but you were always out
Looking towards the future
We were begging for the past
Well we knew we had the good things
But those never seemed to last
Oh please just last

Everyone's unhappy
Everyone's ashamed
Well we all just got caught looking
At somebody else's page
Well nothing ever went
Quite exactly as we planned
Our ideas held no water
But we used them like a dam

Oh, and we carried it all so well
As if we got a new position
Oh, and I laugh all the way to hell
Saying yes, this is a fine promotion
Oh, and I laugh all the way to hell

Of course everyone goes crazy
Over such and such and such
We made ourselves a pillar
We just used it as a crutch
We were certainly uncertain
At least I'm pretty sure I am
Well we didn't need the water
But we just built that good God dam

Oh, and I know this of myself
I assume as much for other people
Oh, and I know this of myself
We've listened more to life's end gong
Than the sound of life's sweet bliss

Was it ever worth it?
Was there all that much to gain?
Well we knew we missed the boat
And we'd already missed the plane
We didn't read the invite
We just dance at our wake
All our favorites were playing
So we could shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Tiny curtains open and we heard the tiny clap of little hands
A tiny man would tell a little joke and get a tiny laugh from all the folks
Sitting drifting around in bubbles and thinking it was us that carried them
When we finally got it figured out that we had truly missed the boat

Oh, and we carried it all so well
As if we got a new position
Oh, and we owned all the tools ourselves
But not the skills to make a shelf with
Oh, what useless tools ourselves

Now...if I'm gonna listen to indie rock, I want the lyrics to be as clever as that! It's part of the reason I also love Beck. Beck is not really indie - he's sort of his own oddball genre, I think. But he is clever and innovative, and I admire him for that.

You'd have to have lived under a rock not to have heard this one:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgSPaXgAdzE&feature=relmfu[/yt]

I also really like this one, as another example of Beck's work:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIrG6xBW5Wk[/yt]

To me, Beck is the King of Quirk. He just does his own quirky thing and in that sense is a true artist - always has been that way, right from the start. He's like a one-man genre.

Wow....the only ones on that list I listen to are:
Apocalyptica
Lacuna Coil

,,,and of course Iron Maiden and Rob Zombie. I think I might have heard Moonspell before though....sounds really familiar.

Surprised no Opeth on that list. I really like them - even when they are kind of death metal screamo, the underlying melody is...well...a melody. And their more mellow songs (ie, not screamo at all), are wonderful! Blackwater Park is a fabulous album....but this song in particular is so mellow it's hard to believe it's by a death metal band:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqWdCRYEZGE[/yt]

I also have the 'usual suspect' Metallica albums...but I'm not really interested in anything much from among their newer albums. And I have some Dream Theater albums, of course....and some Disturbed, Godsmack, Saliva.... I really like Tool...and I guess some of their stuff ventures into prog metal......Five Finger Death Punch is decent...

I have also gotten into a band called Graveyard...sort of psychedelic rock/metal along the lines of Black Sabbath....Found them when I was looking for psychedelic....I don't think they are that well known...but not bad:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7kcAaAu4jU[/yt]

I don't know...for me, metal can be tricky because I don't really like pure screamo for the sake of it. A band has to be capable of other things besides screaming into a mic. Give me some melody...some technique....something! But then, I'm not a huge fan of Nightwish either. Too....over the top I think. Can't put a finger on it...although doing Andrew Lloyd Webber showtunes in their style might have a lot to do with it.

One thing though.. in some ways it doesn't seem entirely serious- if that makes sense? I don't know why. Maybe it's the style of music I heard on the radio or at school when I was 4, 5, 6, 7 and I accosiate it with that age subconciously. Not saying that's a bad thing. Can't have serious all the time.
I'm probably making no sense to anyone else, but my excuse is that it's late. I'm going to bed now.

Click to expand...

Well, what you are reading as the lack of seriousness is in fact the 'quirk factor' that I love so much. Clever lyrics...tongue-in-cheek humor, innovative music....that, to me is what good indie rock is about.

Play Missed The Boat Again and read these lyrics - they are brilliant!:

"Missed The Boat"

While we're on the subject
Could we change the subject now?
I was knocking on your ear's door but you were always out
Looking towards the future
We were begging for the past
Well we knew we had the good things
But those never seemed to last
Oh please just last

Everyone's unhappy
Everyone's ashamed
Well we all just got caught looking
At somebody else's page
Well nothing ever went
Quite exactly as we planned
Our ideas held no water
But we used them like a dam

Oh, and we carried it all so well
As if we got a new position
Oh, and I laugh all the way to hell
Saying yes, this is a fine promotion
Oh, and I laugh all the way to hell

Of course everyone goes crazy
Over such and such and such
We made ourselves a pillar
We just used it as a crutch
We were certainly uncertain
At least I'm pretty sure I am
Well we didn't need the water
But we just built that good God dam

Oh, and I know this of myself
I assume as much for other people
Oh, and I know this of myself
We've listened more to life's end gong
Than the sound of life's sweet bliss

Was it ever worth it?
Was there all that much to gain?
Well we knew we missed the boat
And we'd already missed the plane
We didn't read the invite
We just dance at our wake
All our favorites were playing
So we could shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Tiny curtains open and we heard the tiny clap of little hands
A tiny man would tell a little joke and get a tiny laugh from all the folks
Sitting drifting around in bubbles and thinking it was us that carried them
When we finally got it figured out that we had truly missed the boat

Oh, and we carried it all so well
As if we got a new position
Oh, and we owned all the tools ourselves
But not the skills to make a shelf with
Oh, what useless tools ourselves

Now...if I'm gonna listen to indie rock, I want the lyrics to be as clever as that! It's part of the reason I also love Beck. Beck is not really indie - he's sort of his own oddball genre, I think. But he is clever and innovative, and I admire him for that.

You'd have to have lived under a rock not to have heard this one.

To me, Beck is the King of Quirk. He just does his own quirky thing and in that sense is a true artist - always has been that way, right from the start. He's like a one-man genre.

Click to expand...

Maybe "quirk" is a better word. Heh, I must've been living under a rock. I've never heard Beck before and I only vaguely remember hearing of him. Good enough, but it's not what I usually listen to.
I see, they are clever- I just didn't hear many words on first listen. "Missed the Boat" is a good song, I'll give you that.